Fabric covered buckle



Dec. 11, 195] s, LERMA 2,577,898

FABRIC COVERED BUCKLE Filed Feb. 21, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 l jlhmil' il STEPHEN LERMA INVENTOR ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1951 s. LERMA 2,577,898

FABRIC COVERED BUCKLE Filed Feb. 21, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR STEPHEN LERMA Wa l V ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FABRIC CQVERED BUCKLE Stephen Lerma, Flushing, N. Y.

App cation February 21., 1948, Serial No. 10,022

1 Claim.

This invention relates to washa e. fa ri covered, buckles which are substantially flat or solidly filled with fabric as distinguished from hollow buckles, so as, to prevent moisture from entering within the buckle and thereby eliminate the discoloring of the, fabric which is caused when a hollow fabric covered buckle is subjected to washing operations.

"In the production of fabriecovered buckles, it has been customary to provide two body members having flanges which are assembled in nested relation, the flanges being of considerable depth and thereby causing a space to be formed between the body members of thebuckle. In practice it is found that moisture remainsinthe buckle when the belt and attached buckle are washed or dry cleaned. The cleaning liquid finds its way into the hollow spaces in the buckle and then seeps along the fabric to the outside thereof and discolors the fabric covering of the buckle andof the garment.

An object. of this invention is to provide a fab= ric covered buckle structure which will prevent the discoloration of the fabric covering when the buckle is washed or dry cleaned.

Another objectof this invention is. to. provide a washable fabric covered rectangular buckle comprising a frame body member which is. sub-.- stantially flat or solidly filled: with fabric, having two apertures separated and defined by an inter. gral cross-bar and aving substantially right,- angular outer corner portions removed, triangu Iar po i ns f the inn r o n r portions f the apert res the frame body er being re.- moved, the frame bodymember being thin and formable, the opposed edge portions of th rame body member'- being inturned toward each other to provide means whereby a fabric stretchedover the outer face of the buckle will have its edge portions disposed inside and clamped by the in turned edge portions of the frame body member,

and to provide a thick and flat reinforcing plate member for the frame body member, the plate having a single central aperture coextensive, with the two. frame body apertures, the plate member having its outer edges in entirety circumscribed by the inturned ed e portions of the frame body member, the frame body member and the plate member being in adjoining parallel relation to prevent moisture from entering therebetween.

Another object of this invention is to provide a washable buckle covered on both faces with fabric and arranged to fully cover the faces of the frame body member and the reinforcing platev member in entirety so as to prevent any hollow spaces or pockets from being formed inside the buckle;

With the above and other-- objects in view, the invention- Will be hereinafter more particularly described, andthe Combination and arrangement of parts will be shown in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in, the claims which. form part of this specificationi Reference, will now. be had, to the drawings, wherein like numeral of; reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,'in whi h:

Figure 1 is, a front view of the assembled buckle. Figure 2 is a rear view of the buckle shown in F gu e 5 Figure 3 is plan view or a developed blank of a frame body member forming part of the buckle.

Figure 4 is a lan view of a reinforcing plate member for the frame body member.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a section of fabric which is stretched over the outer faces of' the b ckle..-

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the buckle, the section being taken on line 6-6, in Figure, 1.

Figure 7 is a plan view of, a developed of a. modified frame body member.

Figure 8 is a front view and Figure 9' is a rear view of the modified buckle.

Figure 1G is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the modified buckle, the section being taken as on line l(llfl in Figure 8.

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view, similar to Figure 6, but on a very greatlyenlarged scale to clearly show the extent ofthe cloth covering. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, Figure I shows a front view and Figure 2 shows a rear view of a fabric covered buckle Hi embodying the invention.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a frame body member I l which is made of thin and formablesoft sheet metal. The frame body member I I has substantially right-angular outer corner portions IZ- re moved to form outer rectangular bendable edge portionsv l3, l3" which may be inturned. The frame body member H has to apertures Hi sepblank arated and defined by an integral cross-bar [5.

Triangular portions [6 of" two inner corners defining each of the apertures M are removed to form inner rectangular bendable edge portions H, H which may be inturned to face toward the inturned edge portions l3, 13 for clamping a fabric section It in stretched condition over each outer face of the buckle [0.

Fi ure l is a plan view of the reinforcing plate member l9 which is made of. metal having a degree of rigidity and considerably thicker than the frame body member I I The plate member l9 hasv a, central opening 2!! and two solid rectangular portions; 2|; connected by side bars 22; and without any cross-bar.

In assembled relation, in the buckle [0, the plate member I Bhas its outer edges in entirety circume scribed by the inturned edge portions, of the frame body member H.

Buckles used for the ornamentation of garments may be oflargesize and the cross-barmay have a, length of, about two inches for use with: wide belts. The elongated cross-bar l5 mustbie reenforced to withstand the strains brought to bear onit due to the tightening of the belt, and for this-purpose the cross-bar is given a rounded shape ii, that is, of substantially circular crosssection, to form a rigid reenforcement for the cross-bar.

It is desirable that the tongue 24 of the buckle It should be centrally disposed on the body po r-- tion of the assembled buckle, and while it is contemplated to make the width of the belt of the same width as the cross-bar, there is provided an 7 offset bearing or seat onthe cross-bar for centralizing the tongue 24.

As shown in Figure 6, it will be seen that the rear face 25 of the buckle I is circumscribed by a flange 26 while the front face 2! lies in a single plane. The thickness of the buckle around the outer edge portions is considerably thicker than the body of the buckle. At the central openings l4 there is a ridge 28 which circumscribesf'both openings and which faces the rear face 25.

As shown in Figure 5, the fabric section [8 has dot-and-dash lines showing sideways foldable inner edge portions 29, 29' and outer edge portions 30, 30' which are clamped between the frame body member II and the reinforcing plate l9. At the central portion of the fabric section I8 is a rectangular aperture 23 which defines the inner foldable edge portions 29, 29 which are also clamped between the frame body member H and the reinforcing plate I9.

In assembled relation, a fabric section I8 is used for covering the normally exposed surface of the buckle. An additional fabric section i8 is used for covering the rear surface of the buckle l0.

It is to be noted that the section I8 is somewhat longer than the section I8, the object being to make the sections [8 and it! long enough to cover all the inner spaces between the frame body member II and the plate I9. The outer corners of the fabric sections l8, l8 are considerably rounded to avoid excess material at the corners of the assembled buckle.

In types of washable and moisture proof buckles of the character herein described, it is desirable to make buckles which do not have inturned side edges at the central apertures. A modified washable buckle of this type is shown in Figures 7 to inclusive and comprises a frame body member 3| which is made of thin and formable soft sheet metal.

As shown in assembled relation, it will be noted that the bendable edge portions of flanges 33, 33

are folded to lie flat over the outer edge portions form outer rectangular bendable edge portions 33, 33' which may be inturned. The frame body member 3| has two apertures 34 separated and defined by an integral cross-bar 35. It is to be noted that the upright side walls 36 defining the apertures 34 do not have inturned side edges.

Figure 8 shows a front view and Figure 9 shows a rear view of a modified buckle 40. It is to be noted that the buckle 40 comprises one of the reinforcing plate members l9 shown in Figure 4, and that in assembled relation, shown in Figure 10, the rear face 4| of the buckle is circumscribed by a flange 42 While the front face 43 lies in a single plane.

Similar to that shown in Figure 6, the thickness of the buckle around the outer edge portions is considerably thicker than the body of the buckle. At the central openings 34 the absence of the ridge 28 shown in Figure 6, is evident. The plate I! is shown without any covering fabric.

It is to be noted that the fabric extending beyond the dot-and-dash fold lines must be sufficient to cover the bendable edge portions l3, l3' twice and then extend sufficiently to cover about one-half the distance between the parallel dot-and-dash line, as shown in Figure 5.

It is also to be noted that the reinforcing plate member l9 may be made of plastic material, which will not rust when without fabric covering and exposed. The plastic material may be of a color which will harmonize with the color of the fabric covering material.

Y In accordance with the patent statutes I have described and illustrated the preferred embodiments of my invention, but it will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

In a fabric covered buckle comprising a frame body member having two apertures separated and defined by an integral cross-bar, said frame body member having flanges with arcuate ends shaped to substantially contact each other, triangular portions of inner corners defining each of said apertures being removed to cause the opposed edge portions to substantially contact each other when inturned, a centrally apertured plate having two solid rectangular portions connected by side bars and being coextensive with all the effective boundary edgesof said frame body member and substantially filling the space between said inturned edges, said plate member being disposed in nested parallel relation with said frame body member and within said inturned edge portions of said frame bodymember, said flat plate causing the bent flanges to lie flat, a section of fabric stretched over the outer face of said buckle and having its free edge portions disposed in nested relation within said inner and outer inturned edge portions and extending between said frame body member and said plate member and fully covering all the surfaces of said body member, and a further section of fabric stretched over the outer face of said plate member and extending rearwardly of said plate member and fully covering all the surfaces of said plate member, the covering fabric on said frame body member and the covering fabric on said plate member being in contacting relation, said buckle having two layers of fabric between said frame body member and said plate member for preventing moisture from entering between said members, said double fabric layers forming a buckle solidly packed in cross-section thereby preventing the coilectio of water insidesaid buckle.

STEPHEN LERMA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

